gdp's Comments

NewsReal Blog : Obama Health Care Czar's Motto? Rationing for Thee, but not for Me

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:02:34 +0000

Again, though our system is not perfect (meaning before the changes of Obamacare come along), up to now it seems to be working better than ALL the other Developed countries as far as Breast Cancer is concerned. And speaking of healtcare and agendas...interesting timing...Obama... Helthcare mandate is not a tax, right? Oh wait.. yes it is. Changing Stance, Administration Now Defends Insurance Mandate as a Tax - NYTimes.com

Right Across the Atlantic : Weapons From the Gaza Flotilla

Fri, 4 Jun 2010 15:57:18 +0000

Right John / Michael....and Israel is accused by "the world" of "criminal actions" for doing what JFK did: IE the Cuban missile Crisis

PoliGazette : Watch Rachel Maddow Lie About Tax Cuts and Reconciliation

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 20:05:24 +0000

it doesn’t matter if the Senate passes changes to its health care bill through reconciliation, because reconciliation can't start until after the House passes the Senate bill exactly as it passed in the Senate the last time..... i.e. leave the abortion language (already rejected by Rep. Bart Stupak and others ) intact./ pass with the Cornhusker Kickback and the Loisiana Purchase, Connecticut deal etc. The bill has to pass the House with all that stuff most reasonable Americans have already said they disaprove of on a principle level that is not worth glossing over just to pass generic / not great (seen this way on both sides of the aisle) Healthcare reform.

Breitbart.com : Obama scolds Rep. Cantor at summit for paper prop

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 17:37:19 +0000

Funny, those White Coats he had behind him yesterday looked a little "proppy" Hmm, guess the Pres. doesn't take this debate seiously!

PoliGazette : Climate Gate is becoming a Serial

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 17:43:13 +0000

Interesting video House of Commons Hearing on Climate change data / transparency issues... http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/house_of_c...

PoliGazette : Reconciliation: What Exactly Is It?

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 16:53:08 +0000

I have read elsewhere that reconciliation process cannot "create new policy" (and in this case, as you pointed out, the new policy would be the individual mandate) Not sure if this is correct or not, but I seem to be hearing it quite a lot.

PoliGazette : Climate Gate is becoming a Serial

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:27:00 +0000

We agree for once Jeb! :)

PoliGazette : Climate Gate is becoming a Serial

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:21:15 +0000

The non-AGW crowd feels the burden of proof is on the purported "majority of scientists" that support AGW to take their case in a simple way to the common folk, and at a reasonable level, disprove all the doubt / supposed "false-rumors", etc.. And no, a movie like "An Inconvient Truth" , magazine / newspaper articles and talking heads on TV, entries on blogs. don't cut it. I shouldn't have to dredge up any underlying "facts" here and there... Cap and trade would be rediculously expensive...If this is so important, all the supporting data should be out there in simple form for all the world to see and pick apart... like anything else in science... We should be able to drill down to the more complex, verifyable source data behind it, and question it... / verify with non-AGW climate scientists to see if they can disprove the data with findings to the contrary, and debunking data should be posted as well.. (perhaps put all this on a website..hosted and updated by verifyable real non-partisans..I.E. not the federal government, etc..) That is the only way most of us non-AGW folks would come even close to feeling comfortable about changing our minds.

PoliGazette : Where The Tea Party Movement Should Go From Here: Policy

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:13:26 +0000

Karl Rove's take on this very question:..."If tea party groups are to maximize their influence on policy, they must now begin the difficult task of disassociating themselves from cranks and conspiracy nuts. This includes 9/11 deniers, "birthers" who insist Barack Obama was not born in the U.S., and militia supporters espousing something vaguely close to armed rebellion." . http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703...

PoliGazette : Where The Tea Party Movement Should Go From Here: Policy

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:09:25 +0000

Well.. If we ask I guess we shall receive…. There already is at least one Moveon.org type organization for conservatives... http://rogueon.org/ falls under the amorphous (in a good way) "Tea Party Umbrella", they have started a facebook page, with state affiliates!

PoliGazette : Where The Tea Party Movement Should Go From Here: Policy

Tue, 9 Feb 2010 14:44:51 +0000

So far, I think for the most taxpaying Americans get it. Now as far as organizing a message, that has already happened. Smaller governement, lower taxes, etc. The next thing they should work on is how to get through to the manistream media so they can get the ideas out on HOW to lower taxes, how to spend less and decrease the debt, and how to shrink government. If the Republicans embrace the *ideas* of the Tea Partiers (or dems), but I think it is more likely the Repubs will, then their parties can go ahead an use their message without damaging the source of the message, as the source will just be "the will of the people" not group or party XYZ. Right now, the tea party is making its message known clearly (in NJ, MA, and VA) at the voting booth, perhaps that is where it should just stay... If it aint broke...

PoliGazette : Where The Tea Party Movement Should Go From Here: Policy

Tue, 9 Feb 2010 14:44:44 +0000

One thing they shouldn't do is become an established party (which I think is what they determined on their own). and 2, they should steer clear of having "leaders" or celebrity spokespersons. As much as this would on face appear to be part of the next logical step, in my opinion, it would be a disaster (look at what they are already doing to Palin). This would give the left someone to "isolate" and atack and discredit, if that person or persons had any skeletons in their closet they would tarnish the credibility of the group. Or as Doomed says, do the old Alinsky trick.. If there is no leadership, then it is just a movement of like minded people... some of the fringe, like both parties, but the majority in the middle. There would not need to be an "agenda" because, you either get it, or you don't. Most Americans that like to keep as much money in their own pocket, and want a smaller government for all the right reasons (not just for its own sake) get it.

PoliGazette : Left-wing buyer's remorse: funny, but frightening

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:24:45 +0000

Yes Interested, pretty funny of Mr. Carville to suggest this. I say, please, by all means, continue with that tack we have been hearing for the past couple years over, and over and over again from the Obama campaign / White House. I'm sure there are about 3 people under some rock in the United States has not heard that line yet….Really, is that all they have? Forget the fact that Obama ADDED PLENTY OF DEBT ON HIS OWN with nothing to show for it. Yup, forget that fact. Look, Bush Deserves what he gets for the debt spiral he created, but Obama’s adding to that debt spiral with no results means Obama deserves the same treatment.__

PoliGazette : Hope for Change

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:58:59 +0000

"People want action on climate change. They wanted a public option and pretty quickly to boot." Massachusetts, the most liberal state in the Country disagrees with that statement... Ok, we want Healthcare reform, but not the kind that goes against everything I wrote above...as far as the "quickly" part, see my comment here: http://www.poligazette.com/2010/01/21/call-for-mo... and here: http://www.poligazette.com/2010/01/21/call-for-mo...

PoliGazette : Hope for Change

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:59:03 +0000

"We tend to value personal liberty, equal opportunity, relatively small government, open and accountable government, and fiscally responsible government." Agree, but as far as the fiscally responsible portion, I think we should clarify what this does / doesn't mean... Fiscal policy must first be in place to have Fiscal Responsibility. As of late (meaning as our Debt has increased by leaps and bounds) Bernanke and his predecessor were mostly taking care of this problem on the monetary policy end. This can't continue to the extent that it has. It is important that we recognize the fallacy in the belief that the influences of monetary policy actions on economic activity are somehow more certain than that of fiscal action. Monetary Policy is Defensive in Nature, whereas Fiscal Policy nips the problem in the bud before it is added to the credit card (defense). Playing defense like we have just kicks the can down the road so our Kids and our Kids-Kids are paying for our mistakes. Now some may automatically say I am one of those 'End the Fed types" they would be wrong, I have a credit card, I just pay of the balance every month. In the same way the Fed has it's place.... So do unions, but we all know that unions have overextend their intended purpose from time to time, the same holds for the Fed.

PoliGazette : Selfish Environmentalism

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:43:11 +0000

"Because C02 is the natural result of a warming planet and is NOT the cause of a warming planet." In High School Earth Science class we learned about "reverse causation" when formulating hypotheses… and I’d prefer not to say what I got for a grade in that class….wow, the AGW "Scientists" really needs to hit the books again :)

PoliGazette : Call for Moderate Democratic Party

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:30:01 +0000

and memo's like this dont help... http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/oba... They just dont get it...I live in Mass, I know there was real excitement about the message that Scott Brown put out there to Lifelong DEMS, Republicans and independents... Smaller Gov, lower taxes, real healthcare reform, etc.....In the most Liberal state in the Country. Voting in Brown wasn't a message to "speed-up", this was a message to slow way WAY down and do healthcare reform transparently, and honestly. Weather it happens on a particlar Politicians "watch" or not is not important.

PoliGazette : Call for Moderate Democratic Party

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:42:02 +0000

What Jason says is true from the perspective of a recipient of "an incremental idea". From the perspective of the presenter of an incremental idea to the constituency, there is usually a long term goal that is made clear from the get-go. If the "incremental change" does not seem to jive well with the long term goal, as is the case with many of the suggestions thus far for what Healthcare reform should mean (Meaning so far ignoring calls for tort reform, and no ability to cross state lines, closed door discussions, no CSPAN, etc.) or if the long term goal is masked, as justification to fix yet another "emergency" (Read: healthcare reform needs to happen ASAP!!) That is when I get a just a little concerned.

PoliGazette : Wars On Moderates

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:58:58 +0000

I agree that is the way it has worked. I believe for now, the people are more engaged in the process. The extremes only came about because of a lazy public. Now, the more citizens are engaged, the less extreme ideas that will be presented from our Congress, the less engaged we are, the greater the extremes. With an apathetic public, we give government the keys to our collective soul and hope they do the right thing, we just unleash them and let the chips fall where they may and then elect another group, do the same again, and again, without much intra-term engagement / feedback. The more we are engaged in the process, the more government will be ours, and not our Congress'. Also, with more moderates like Scott Brown, we canhope to get away from making temporary wins for one side or the other, and putting us on the path that most of us want. I have some reservations that Scott Brown, will become another hack that talks a great game, but if we keep on the pressure with Congress, they will have no choice but do what most of us want. I for one, am keeping my sentors /reps on a short leash at every turn I can, the more we all do it, the better we all will be.

PoliGazette : Today Is An Exciting Day

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:05:54 +0000

I am so thankful that he won! I live in Mass, so I am extra psyched! But I agree, this is not a flick of a switch to the Republican / conservative "agenda" by any stretch of the imagination. It is a statement, I think, that we the people don't want the Government ignoring us any longer, that "agendas" of the leadership, are no longer going to just pass because we voted the majority in. Most Americans still want Healtchare reform, but a really open and honest debate no closed door deals. If Massachusetts, arguably the most liberal state in the country can send that message, the other states will very easily easily be able to send that same message in the next few years.